Salt - Terry Jarrard-Dimond
Encaustic - 12" x 12" - 2016
I have always loved what a mat and frame do for works on paper. The mat gives the work relief from whatever you place around it and the frame and glass/plexiglass protects and finishes the look.
Most painters frame their paintings but I have seen others who leave the work unframed and perhaps paint the edges of the work to give it a more finished look. Many artists who work with encaustic paint do not use a frame. They tape the edges of the cradled board before they start the work and then remove the tape after the work is completed. This keeps the edges clean so than when a patron purchases the work and hangs the work they don't end up with paint smudges on their wall.
Perhaps one reason a frame often isn't used is the cost of frames as they are expensive. If you make your own frames the wood is costly and making a frame takes a lot of time. I was excited when I first discovered float frames which work nicely with cradled boards.
Float frames are made so that you place the board in the frame from the front and there are screw holes already in the frame and you just insert a screw, add hangers and you're done. The frames are constructed in a way that there is a space between the edge of the painting and the inside edge of the frame. You still need to clean the edge of the painting but the painting seems to "float" inside the frame....thus the name....floater frame.
In researching this type of frame on the internet I found some beautiful frames and they are startlingly expensive....example: $135 for a 12" x 12" unfinished wood model from a well known source. Beautiful but out of the question for me. I found others at lesser prices including one from Dick Blick. This frame comes in only 3 three finishes and the only one I would ever use is black. I wish they had a natural finish as well but right now they do not. They do offer a number of size combinations and the cost for this 12" x 12" was about $25.
What do you think?
What do you think?
Salt - Terry Jarrard-Dimond
Encaustic - 12" x 12" - 2016
